This Black History month has come with a lot of thoughts and emotions for me. I’m doing work that I love as Racial Justice Coordinator, and it’s rewarding to finally say that I am doing work that serves others in a meaningful way. While this work fills me up, it can also be uncomfortable and challenging. This month, I’ve been reflecting on my ancestors, gaining strength and resilience by their examples and it all comes back to the Adinkra symbol of Sankofa.

Sankofa is a symbol created by the Akan people of Ancient Ghana. It means that you can never focus on your future if you don’t know where you’ve been. The literal translation of Sankofa is “go back and get it" (san - to return; ko - to go; fa - to fetch, to seek and take).

KIDSPOST BLACKHISTORY

This is what Black History Month means to me. It’s a month to reflect on my past as a Black woman in America. It’s a time for me to pause and pay homage to my ancestors who were kings, queens, artists, mathematicians, scientists, doctors, etc. It’s a time of utter gratitude when I hear Miles Davis’s "So What," Nikki Giovanni’s "Balances," or Dr. Martin Luther King’s "I’ve Been to the Mountain Top" speech. It’s a time of celebration and mourning for me.

I love that so many organizations in the York community are hosting Black History Month programs and gatherings. Usually, the celebrations are upbeat and joyous occasions and I feel the joy. But, I must also show up for my pain.

Pain Point #1: Checking the box. In my line of work, I meet leaders who invite me to their school or organization for racial justice training. Most of them are well-intentioned and committed to Racial Justice. I can quickly recognize the deep commitment when they ask me to come back for multiple sessions to help them change policies and procedures that place people of color at a disadvantage. Then, I have some leaders who wish to check the box so they can say that all of their staff have had diversity training...in an hour. They exert the minimum amount of energy to a big problem.

I see this same thing happening during Black History month and my heart sinks. It shows up as Black history social media posts only in February, a Black History month celebration once a year, or inviting one Black speaker to speak (and sometimes expecting them to speak for free).

While these efforts should be applauded, they are not enough to celebrate and honor the accomplishments of Black people. It’s a good first start, but I believe celebrating Black History is every day. It means that when schools teach on the solar system, they discuss Dr. Mae Jemison. It means that when they’re looking for speakers all year around, they invite people of color. When it’s easier to do things “the way they've always done them,” they are willing to exert the effort to be more inclusive.

Pain Point #2: The problem still exists. Carver G. Woodson started Black History Month to encourage the public school system to teach Black history. He noticed that Black voices were underrepresented in the books and conversations that shaped the study of American history. In the 1920s, it started as a week and grew into Black History Month in the 1970s. Sadly, Black history is still not a part of American history books and this is painful for me. There are schools in York County that are still not teaching about Black contributions in history, literature, math classes, etc. It saddens me that the problem that troubled Woodson still exists nearly 100 years later. Until our society embraces Black history as American history, the problem will persist.

Paint Point #3: All or nothing. Black History month results in extremes. For one month, we see Black history month memes up and down our newsfeeds. Then, as soon as March 1 arrives, we see nothing, not a single post on Black contributions. My heart sinks.

To me, the solution is simple:

One Race. One Heart.

That is YWCA York’s Race Against Racism theme this year and I believe those words hold the key to real transformation and healing. It’s been said many times before, but let say it again: Black history is American history. In the spirit of Sankofa, we can’t move forward until we all know where we’ve been and face the truth about where we’ve been. All of us, not just people of color, have been affected by racism. It affects us all differently but it does affect us. So this month, or any month, I encourage you to take a moment to reflect upon OUR ancestors. They aren’t just mine.